Professional Negligence

If a hired professional has done something wrong, costing a client to suffer as a consequence, there may be grounds to make a professional negligence claim. If this has happened to you, it is best to discuss your claim with a legal expert.

What Is Professional Negligence?

Professional negligence is a broad term, but put simply it refers to an instance in which a professional whose services have been rendered breaches a code of conduct. All professionals are obliged to follow the rules and guidelines of their trade, and if they do not this could be considered as a breach of duty. Should this breach of duty have a direct affect on a client, then there may be grounds to make a professional negligence claim.

This type of claim can be made if a person has suffered – financially, emotionally, or even physically – due to a professional acting incompetently. Generally a claim can be made against any qualified professional, but are usually filed against those who have the potential to cause a client a substantial financial loss. Thus more often than not claims are made against professionals such as solicitors, accountants, architects, surveyors, estate agents or financial advisers.

Common Types of Professional Negligence

There are many scenarios in which a claim for professional negligence could arise, including the following examples:-

Solicitors who have submitted claims too late, failed to follow correct procedure, or charged excessive costs;
Barristers who have missed court or failed to act in the interests of a client;
Financial advisers who have mislead someone into buying financial products eg. pensions and loans;
Estate agents who have given bad advice upon property causing it to lose value;
Construction professionals (builders, architects, engineers) who have completed work late or to a poor standard.

What Action Can You Take?

If you have suffered as a consequence of a professional’s negligence, then you make want to make a claim. This could result in the settlement of a sum for compensation to cover your damages and suffering. A professional negligence must be made within six years of the incident, and it will be necessary to prove liability. In essence, this means it must be shown that a professional has failed to undertake their contract with care, and you have suffered some kind of loss.

Summary

If you would like to make a claim for professional negligence, it is vital you seek legal advice. Professional negligence claims are a specialist area of law, and you will need an expert to guide you through the process.

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